Postmodernism: A Dead End in Social Work Epistemology

Authors

Richard Caputo, Yeshiva University
William Epstein, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
David Stoesz, University of Illinois Springfield
Bruce Thyer, Florida State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2-2015

Abstract

Postmodernism continues to have a detrimental influence on social work, questioning the Enlightenment, criticizing established research methods, and challenging scientific authority. The promotion of postmodernism by editors of Social Work and the Journal of Social Work Education has elevated postmodernism, placing it on a par with theoretically guided and empirically based research. The inclusion of postmodernism in the 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards of the Council on Social Work Education and its 2015 sequel further Erode the knowledge-building capacity of social work educators. In relation to other disciplines that have exploited empirical methods, social works stature will continue to ebb until postmodernism is rejected in favor of scientific methods for generating knowledge.

Publication Title

Journal of Social Work Education

First Page Number

638

Last Page Number

647

DOI

10.1080/10437797.2015.1076260

Recommended Citation

Caputo, Richard; Epstein, William; Stoesz, David; and Thyer, Bruce, "Postmodernism: A Dead End in Social Work Epistemology" (2015). Kean Publications. 1834.
https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/keanpublications/1834